life
Aisha Al Rafati December 1st, 2013
Hello to the Women of Egypt,
I am an independent woman, and my dear wish is for all of the women in the world to be independent and strong. My name is Nawal El Saadawi and the reason I am writing this letter to you all is that our lives as women are unfair. We deserve to make our own decisions, even though there is a strict society surrounding us, the women of Egypt. As a child, I was forced to undergo a surgical procedure, which removes part or all of the external female genitalia. This female circumcision procedure occurs all around Egypt, and I know how it feels to get your dignity taken away from your body. I have observed the hardships and inequalities that woman in Egypt face.
The problem of this procedure is that everyone thinks it creates honor in a women. The problem is that this procedure is not so safe and can go catastrophically wrong. The problem is that at the age of six, I was pinned down and had my clitoris removed, without a say in anything. The problem is that I am 82 years old, and this memory affects my everyday life. This abnormal idea that this procedure makes a girl become a “woman” is outrageous. I didn’t think it was fair for me to lie in a pool of blood for a couple of days until the bleeding stopped. The problem is that two million girls are at risk each year. It hurts me to know that I am from Egypt, and this procedure occurs to innocent women everyday for “honor”.
Women are convinced that they are not as strong as men, even though the ratio between men and woman are approximately equal. Generations of women have had this procedure done, so it only makes sense to get this procedure done too right? No, women do not have to think like that. Being vulnerable to society and your family cannot be a choice. Tradition is a major cause of the problem of female genital mutilation. When people think it’s okay to control a woman’s sexual desire that is when the problem begins. FGM was made
Hello to the Women of Egypt,
I am an independent woman, and my dear wish is for all of the women in the world to be independent and strong. My name is Nawal El Saadawi and the reason I am writing this letter to you all is that our lives as women are unfair. We deserve to make our own decisions, even though there is a strict society surrounding us, the women of Egypt. As a child, I was forced to undergo a surgical procedure, which removes part or all of the external female genitalia. This female circumcision procedure occurs all around Egypt, and I know how it feels to get your dignity taken away from your body. I have observed the hardships and inequalities that woman in Egypt face.
The problem of this procedure is that everyone thinks it creates honor in a women. The problem is that this procedure is not so safe and can go catastrophically wrong. The problem is that at the age of six, I was pinned down and had my clitoris removed, without a say in anything. The problem is that I am 82 years old, and this memory affects my everyday life. This abnormal idea that this procedure makes a girl become a “woman” is outrageous. I didn’t think it was fair for me to lie in a pool of blood for a couple of days until the bleeding stopped. The problem is that two million girls are at risk each year. It hurts me to know that I am from Egypt, and this procedure occurs to innocent women everyday for “honor”.
Women are convinced that they are not as strong as men, even though the ratio between men and woman are approximately equal. Generations of women have had this procedure done, so it only makes sense to get this procedure done too right? No, women do not have to think like that. Being vulnerable to society and your family cannot be a choice. Tradition is a major cause of the problem of female genital mutilation. When people think it’s okay to control a woman’s sexual desire that is when the problem begins. FGM was made